Prevalence of mould in chicken meat-cuts, giblets and products with immunoaffinity detection of aflatoxin residues

Mould contamination and aflatoxin residues are considered big problems in the food chain, therefore 140 random samples of frozen chicken breast, thigh, gizzard, heart, liver, chicken burger, and chicken luncheon (twenty of each) were examined for detection of mould contamination level there proteolytic and lipolytic activity and aflatoxin residues in examined products. Mould colonies were detected in 100% and 30% of samples with mean values of 3.42±0.71 and 1.29±0.30 log10CFU/g in the chicken burger and chicken luncheon, respectively. The identified species were Aspergillus 76/140 (54.3%), Penicillium 39/140 (27.9%), Alternaria 35/140 (25%), Cladosporium 30/140 (21.4%), Rhizopus13/140 (9.3%), Acremonium 10/140 (7.1%), Mucor 9/140 (6.4%), Fusarium 7/140 (5%) and Sporotricum 7/140 (5%). Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus parasiticus, Aspergillus ochraceus and Aspergillus terrus were identified with total percentages of 53(37.9%), 25(17.9%), 21(15%), 5(3.5%), 5(3.5%) and 8(5.7%), respectively. The proteolytic and lipolytic activity detected in all species ranged between high, moderate and weak degrees except A. parasiticus shows only lipolytic activity. The examined samples had variable incidence and concentrations of aflatoxin residues as (20%) 1.49±0.53, (15%) 1.89±0.89, (55%) 8.79±14, (25%) 1.64±0.38, (20%) 2.3±0.72, (65%) 9.21±1.12 and (35%) 4.12±0.68 µg/ kg in frozen chicken breast, thigh, gizzard, heart, liver, chicken burger and chicken luncheon, respectively. Thus, strict hygienic measures during the production of chicken products must be adopted to minimize the deviation in their nutritional quality due to the growth of proteolytic and lipolytic mould, in addition, to protecting human health from the hazards of aflatoxin residues.

Exposure to Indoor Mouldy Odour Increases the Risk of Asthma in Older Adults Living in Social Housing

Background: Indoor dampness is thought to affect around 16% of European homes. It is generally accepted that increased exposure to indoor dampness and mould contamination (e.g., spores and hyphae) increases the risk of developing and/or exacerbating asthma. Around 30% of people in the Western world have an allergic disease (e.g., allergy, wheeze and asthma). The role of indoor mould contamination in the risk of allergic diseases in older adults is yet to be fully explored. This is of interest because older people spend more time indoors, as well as facing health issues due to the ageing process, and may be at greater risk of developing and/or exacerbating asthma as a result of indoor dampness. Methods: Face-to-face questionnaires were carried out with 302 participants residing in social housing properties located in South West England. Self-reported demographic, mould contamination (i.e., presence of mould growth and mouldy odour) and health information was linked with the asset management records (e.g., building type, age and levels of maintenance). Multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate the odd ratios and confidence intervals of developing and/or exacerbating asthma, wheeze and allergy with exposure to reported indoor mould contamination. We adjusted for a range of factors that may affect asthma outcomes, which include age, sex, current smoking, presence of pets, education, and building type and age. To assess the role of mould contamination in older adults, we compared younger adults to those aged over 50 years. Results: Doctor-diagnosed adult asthma was reported by 26% of respondents, 34% had current wheeze while 18% had allergies. Asthma was common among subjects exposed to reported visible mould (32%) and reported mouldy odour (42%). Exposure to visible mould growth and mouldy odour were risk factors for asthma, but not for wheeze or allergy. Exposure to mouldy odour increased the risk of asthma in adults over the age of 50 years (odds ratio (OR) 2.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10–5.34) and the risk was higher for females than for males (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.37–9.08). These associations were modified by a range of built environment characteristics. Conclusions: We found that older adults living in social (public) housing properties, specifically women, may be at higher risk of asthma when exposed to mouldy odour, which has a number of implications for policy makers and practitioners working in the health and housing sector. Additional measures should be put in place to protect older people living in social housing against indoor damp and mould contamination.

Mould Contamination Experimental Study in Public Building Environment

This paper is aimed at the experimental study on mould contamination status. Mold contamination has seriously threatened residents’ physical and mental health and buildings. However, few experimental studies on mold contamination was made in the built environment under hot and humid climate. We firstly prepared the Sabaurauds agar(SAB) with reference to the national standard and set sampling points by the five-point sampling method in a classroom of USC. Then, we cultured the sample in 28 °C constant temperature condition, counted mould number with plate counting method and referred to the Omeilianski formula to calculate indoor mould concentration. The study found that the average concentration of mould spore in the typical public building was 629cfu/m3, and the exceeding rate was up to 25.8%. The results show that the typical public building environment in Hengyang has serious mould contamination, thus further environmental optimization research is urgently needed.

Heavy metal and mould contamination of herbal medicinal products – an overview

Rośliny zielarskie są powszechnie wykorzystywane jako surowce w przemyśle farmaceutycznym. Od czasów starożytnych ziół używa się w leczeniu i zapobieganiu chorób. Jednakże w dzisiejszych czasach mogą one nie spełniać wymagań dotyczących jakości, bezpieczeństwa i skuteczności. Większość produktów ziołowych nie jest testowana, a ich efekty działania są słabo monitorowane. Konsekwencją tego jest niewystarczająca wiedza na temat przebiegu ich działania, skutków ubocznych, przeciwwskazań oraz interakcji z występującymi na rynku produktami farmaceutycznymi oraz żywnością. Przyczyną negatywnego wpływu surowców ziołowych na organizm może być ich zanieczyszczenie przez różne grzyby pleśniowe, powstające podczas zbioru, przetwarzania, przechowywania, a także dystrybucji. Zanieczyszczenie surowców zielarskich może być również spowodowane przez różnorodne metale ciężkie, które występują w wielu aspektach współczesnego życia. Celem niniejszej pracy jest przegląd informacji na temat stanu mykologicznego i chemicznego roślin leczniczych, a także wskazanie kilku ważnych wyzwań związanych z efektywnym monitorowaniem ich bezpieczeństwa.